Etymology

The origin of the name, "Serbia" is unclear. Various authors mentioned names of Serbs (Serbian: Srbi / Срби) and Sorbs (Upper Sorbian: Serbja; Lower Sorbian: Serby) in different variants: Surbii, Suurbi, Serbloi, Zeriuani, Sorabi, Surben, Sarbi, Serbii, Serboi, Zirbi, Surbi, Sorben,[18] etc. These authors used these names to refer to Serbs and Sorbs in areas where their historical (or current) presence was/is not disputed (notably in the Balkans and Lusatia), but there are also sources that mention same or similar names in other parts of the World (most notably in the Asiatic Sarmatia in the Caucasus).

From 1945 to 1963, the official name for Serbia was the People's Republic of Serbia, which became the Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1963 to 1990. Since 1990, the official name of the country is the "Republic of Serbia".

History

Prehistory

Archeological evidence of Paleolithic settlements on the territory of present-day Serbia are scarce. A fragment of a human jaw, was found in Sićevo (Mala Balanica) and believed to be up to 525,000—397,000 years old.[22]

Middle Ages

Serbs, a Slavic tribe that settled the Balkans in the 6th or early 7th century, established the Serbian Principality by the 8th century. It was said in 822 that the Serbs inhabited the greater part of Roman Dalmatia, their territory spanning what is today southwestern Serbia and parts of neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Empire and Bulgarian Empire held other parts of the territory. Christianity was adopted by the Serbian rulers in ca. 870, and by the mid-10th-century the Serbian state stretched the Adriatic Sea by the Neretva, the Sava, the Morava, and Skadar. Between 1166 and 1371 Serbia was ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty (whose legacy is especially cherished), under whom the state was elevated to a kingdom (and briefly an empire) and Serbian bishopric to an autocephalous archbishopric (through the effort of Sava, the country's patron saint). Monuments of the Nemanjić period survives in many monasteries (several being World Heritage) and fortifications. During these centuries the Serbian state (and influence) expanded significantly. The northern part, Vojvodina, was ruled by the Kingdom of Hungary. The period known as the Fall of the Serbian Empire saw the once-powerful state fragmented into duchies, culminating in the Battle of Kosovo (1389) against the rising Ottoman Empire. The Serbian Despotate was finally conquered by the Ottomans in 1459. The Ottoman threat and eventual conquest saw large migrations of Serbs to the west and north.[29]

Ottoman and Habsburg rule

After the loss of independence to the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, Serbia briefly regained sovereignty under Jovan Nenad in the 16th century. Three Habsburg invasions and numerous rebellions constantly challenged Ottoman rule. One famous incident was the Banat Uprising in 1595, which was part of the Long War between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs.[30] The area of modern Vojvodina endured a century-long Ottoman occupation before being ceded to the Habsburg Empire at the end of the 17th century under the Treaty of Karlowitz.

In all Serb lands south of the rivers Danube and Sava, the nobility was eliminated and the peasantry was enserfed to Ottoman masters, while much of the clergy fled or were confined to the isolated monasteries. Under the Ottoman system, Serbs, as Christians, were considered an inferior class of people and subjected to heavy taxes, and a small portion of the Serbian populace experienced Islamisation. The Ottomans abolished the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć (1463), but reestablished it in 1557, providing for limited continuation of Serbian cultural traditions within the empire.[31][32]

As the Great Serb Migrations depopulated most of southern Serbia, the Serbs sought refuge across the Danube River in Vojvodina to the north and the Military Frontier in the west, where they were granted rights by the Austrian crown under measures such as the Statuta Wallachorum of 1630. The ecclesiastical center of the Serbs also moved northwards, to the Metropolitanate of Sremski Karlovci, as the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was once-again abolished by the Ottomans in 1766.[33] Following several petitions, the Holy Roman EmperorLeopold I formally granted Serbs who wished to leave the right to their autonomous crownland.[34]

Revolution and independence

The Serbian Revolution for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815.[35] The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire that eventually evolved towards full independence (1835–1867).[36][37] During the First Serbian Uprising, led by Duke Karađorđe Petrović, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began. Led by Miloš Obrenović, it ended in 1815 with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities.[38] Likewise, Serbia was one of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish feudalism.[39] The Convention of Ackerman in 1826, the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 and finally, the Hatt-i Sharif, recognized the suzerainty of Serbia. The first Serbian Constitution was adopted on 15 February 1835.[40][41]

Following the clashes between the Ottoman army and Serbs in Belgrade in 1862, and under pressure from the Great Powers, by 1867 the last Turkish soldiers left the Principality, making the country de facto independent. By enacting a new constitution without consulting the Porte, Serbian diplomats confirmed the de facto independence of the country. In 1876, Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, proclaiming its unification with Bosnia.

Balkan Wars, World War I and the First Yugoslavia

In the course of the First Balkan War in 1912, the Balkan League defeated the Ottoman Empire and captured its European territories, which enabled territorial expansion into Raška and Kosovo. The Second Balkan War soon ensued when Bulgaria turned on its former allies, but was defeated, resulting in the Treaty of Bucharest. In two years, Serbia enlarged its territory by 80% and its population by 50%; it also suffered high casualties on the eve of World War I, with around 20,000 dead.[44] Austria-Hungary became wary of the rising regional power on its borders and its potential to become an anchor for unification of all South Slavs, and the relationship between the two countries became tense.

Despite initial success, it was eventually overpowered by the Central Powers in 1915. Most of its army and some people fled through Albania to Greece and Corfu, suffering immense losses on the way. Serbia was occupied by the Central Powers. After the Central Powers military situation on other fronts worsened, the remains of the Serb army returned east and lead a final breakthrough through enemy lines on 15 September 1918, liberating Serbia and defeating the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria.[48] Serbia, with its campaign, was a major Balkan Entente Power[49] which contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the Balkans in November 1918, especially by helping France force Bulgaria's capitulation.[50] Serbia was classified as a minor Entente power.[51]

King Peter was succeeded by his son, Alexander, in August 1921. Serb centralists and Croat autonomists clashed in the parliament, and most governments were fragile and short-lived. Nikola Pašić, a conservative prime minister, headed or dominated most governments until his death. King Alexander changed the name of the country to Yugoslavia and changed the internal divisions from the 33 oblasts to nine new banovinas. The effect of Alexander's dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity.[59]

During this period, hundreds of thousands of Serbs fled the Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia and sought refuge in Serbia, seeking to escape the large-scale persecution and genocide of Serbs, Jews, and Roma being committed by the Ustaše regime.[64]

The Republic of Užice was a short-lived liberated territory established by the Partisans and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a military mini-state that existed in the autumn of 1941 in the west of occupied Serbia. By late 1944, the Belgrade Offensive swung in favour of the partisans in the civil war; the partisans subsequently gained control of Yugoslavia.[65] Following the Belgrade Offensive, the Syrmian Front was the last major military action of World War II in Serbia. A study by Vladimir Žerjavić estimates total war related deaths in Yugoslavia at 1,027,000, including 273,000 in Serbia.[66]

Serbia's most powerful and influential politician in Tito-era Yugoslavia was Aleksandar Ranković, one of the "big four" Yugoslav leaders, alongside Tito, Edvard Kardelj, and Milovan Đilas.[68] Ranković was later removed from the office because of the disagreements regarding Kosovo's nomenklatura and the unity of Serbia.[68] Ranković's dismissal was highly unpopular among Serbs.[69] Pro-decentralization reformers in Yugoslavia succeeded in the late 1960s in attaining substantial decentralization of powers, creating substantial autonomy in Kosovo and Vojvodina, and recognizing a Yugoslav Muslim nationality.[69] As a result of these reforms, there was a massive overhaul of Kosovo's nomenklatura and police, that shifted from being Serb-dominated to ethnic Albanian-dominated through firing Serbs on a large scale.[69] Further concessions were made to the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo in response to unrest, including the creation of the University of Pristina as an Albanian language institution.[69] These changes created widespread fear among Serbs of being treated as second-class citizens.[70]

Fueled by ethnic tensions, the Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001) erupted, with the most severe conflicts taking place in Croatia and Bosnia, where the large ethnic Serb communities opposed independence from Yugoslavia. The FRY remained outside the conflicts, but provided logistic, military and financial support to Serb forces in the wars. In response, the UN imposed sanctions against Serbia which led to political isolation and the collapse of the economy (GDP decreased from $24 billion in 1990 to under $10 billion in 1993).

Multi-party democracy was introduced in Serbia in 1990, officially dismantling the one-party system. Critics of Milošević claimed that the government continued to be authoritarian despite constitutional changes, as Milošević maintained strong political influence over the state media and security apparatus.[73][74] When the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia refused to accept its defeat in municipal elections in 1996, Serbians engaged in large protests against the government.

Recent history

On 21 May 2006, Montenegro held a referendum to determine whether to end its union with Serbia. The results showed 55.4% of voters in favor of independence, which was just above the 55% required by the referendum. On 5 June 2006, the National Assembly of Serbia declared Serbia to be the legal successor to the former state union.[77] The Assembly of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Serbia immediately condemned the declaration and continues to deny any statehood to Kosovo. The declaration has sparked varied responses from the international community, some welcoming it, while others condemned the unilateral move.[78]Status-neutral talks between Serbia and Kosovo-Albanian authorities are held in Brussels, mediated by the EU.

In April 2008 Serbia was invited to join the Intensified Dialogue programme with NATO despite the diplomatic rift with the alliance over Kosovo.[79] Serbia officially applied for membership in the European Union on 22 December 2009,[80] and received candidate status on 1 March 2012, following a delay in December 2011.[81][82] Following a positive recommendation of the European Commission and European Council in June 2013, negotiations to join the EU commenced in January 2014.[83]

Geography

Located at the crossroads between Central[14][84][85] and Southern Europe, Serbia is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of 88,361km2 (including Kosovo), which places it at 113th place in the world; with Kosovo excluded, the total area is 77,474km2,[1] which would make it 117th. Its total border length amounts to 2,027km (Albania 115km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 302km, Bulgaria 318km, Croatia 241km, Hungary 151km, Macedonia 221km, Montenegro 203km and Romania 476km).[1] All of Kosovo's border with Albania (115km), Macedonia (159km) and Montenegro (79km)[86] are under control of the Kosovo border police.[87] Serbia treats the 352km long border between Kosovo and rest of Serbia as an "administrative line"; it is under shared control of Kosovo border police and Serbian police forces, and there are 11 crossing points.[88]

Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system. Elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at 2,169 metres (7,116 feet) (the highest peak in Serbia, excluding Kosovo) to the lowest point of just 17 metres (56 feet) near the Danube river at Prahovo.[91] The largest lake is Đerdap Lake (163 square kilometres or 63 square miles) and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube (587.35 kilometres or 364.96 miles).

Climate

The climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. With mean January temperatures around 0°C (32°F), and mean July temperatures of 22°C (72°F), it can be classified as a warm-humid continental or humid subtropical climate.[92] In the north, the climate is more continental, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers along with well distributed rainfall patterns. In the south, summers and autumns are drier, and winters are relatively cold, with heavy inland snowfall in the mountains.

Differences in elevation, proximity to the Adriatic Sea and large river basins, as well as exposure to the winds account for climate variations.[93] Southern Serbia is subject to Mediterranean influences.[94] The Dinaric Alps and other mountain ranges contribute to the cooling of most of the warm air masses. Winters are quite harsh in the Pešter plateau, because of the mountains which encircle it.[95] One of the climatic features of Serbia is Košava, a cold and very squally southeastern wind which starts in the Carpathian Mountains and follows the Danube northwest through the Iron Gate where it gains a jet effect and continues to Belgrade and can spread as far south as Niš.[96]

The average annual air temperature for the period 1961–1990 for the area with an altitude of up to 300m (984ft) is 10.9°C (51.6°F). The areas with an altitude of 300 to 500m (984 to 1,640ft) have an average annual temperature of around 10.0°C (50.0°F), and over 1,000m (3,281ft) of altitude around 6.0°C (42.8°F).[97] The lowest recorded temperature in Serbia was −39.5°C (−39.1°F) on 13 January 1985, Karajukića Bunari in Pešter, and the highest was 44.9°C or 112.8°F, on 24 July 2007, recorded in Smederevska Palanka.[98]

Serbia is one of few European countries with very high risk exposure to natural hazards (earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts).[99] It is estimated that potential floods, particularly in areas of Central Serbia, threaten over 500 larger settlements and an area of 16,000 square kilometers.[100] The most disastrous were the floods in May 2014, when 57 people died and a damage of over a 1.5 billion euro was inflicted.[101]

Hydrology

Almost all of Serbia's rivers drain to the Black Sea, by way of the Danube river. The Danube, the second largest European river, passes through Serbia with 588 kilometers (21% of its overall length) and represents the largest source of fresh water. It is joined by its biggest tributaries, the Great Morava (longest river entirely in Serbia with 493km of length), Sava and Tisza rivers.[102] One notable exception is the Pčinja which flows into the Aegean. Drina river forms the natural border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and represents the main kayaking and rafting attraction in both countries.

Due to configuration of the terrain, natural lakes are sparse and small; most of them are located in the lowlands of Vojvodina, like the aeolian lake Palić or numerous oxbow lakes along river flows (like Zasavica and Carska Bara). However, there are numerous artificial lakes, mostly due to hydroelectric dams, the biggest being Đerdap (Iron Gates) on the Danube with 163km2 on the Serbian side (a total area of 253km2 is shared with Romania) as well as the deepest (with maximum depth of 92 m); Perućac on the Drina, and Vlasina. The largest waterfall, Jelovarnik, located in Kopaonik, is 71 m high.[103] Abundance of relatively unpolluted surface waters and numerous underground natural and mineral water sources of high water quality presents a chance for export and economy improvement; however, more extensive exploitation and production of bottled water began only recently.

Environment

With 29.1% of its territory covered by forest, Serbia is considered to be a middle-forested country, compared on a global scale to world forest coverage at 30%, and European average of 35%. The total forest area in Serbia is 2,252,000 ha (1,194,000 ha or 53% are state-owned, and 1,058,387 ha or 47% are privately owned) or 0.3 ha per inhabitant.[104]

The most common trees are oak, beech, pines and firs. Serbia is a country of rich ecosystem and species diversity – covering only 1.9% of the whole European territory Serbia is home to 39% of European vascular flora, 51% of European fish fauna, 40% of European reptile and amphibian fauna, 74% of European bird fauna, 67% European mammal fauna.[105] Its abundance of mountains and rivers make it an ideal environment for a variety of animals, many of which are protected including wolves, lynx, bears, foxes and stags. There are 17 snake species living all over the country, 8 of them are venomous.[106] Serbia is home to highly protected owl species. In the northernmost part of Vojvodina plain, in the city of Kikinda, a number of endangered 145 long-eared owls is noted, making this town the world's biggest settlement of these species.[107] Serbia is considerably rich with threatened species of bats and butterflies.[108]

Mountain of Tara in western Serbia is one of the last regions in Europe where bears can still live in absolute freedom.[109] Serbia is also home to about 380 species of bird. In Carska Bara, there are over 300 bird species on just a few square kilometers.[110]Uvac Gorge is considered one of the last habitats of the Griffon vulture in Europe.[111]

Air pollution is a significant problem in Bor area, due to work of large copper mining and smelting complex, and Pančevo where oil and petrochemical industry is based.[112] Some cities suffer from water supply problems, due to mismanagement and low investments in the past, as well as water pollution (like the pollution of the Ibar River from the Trepčazinc-lead combinate, affecting the city of Kraljevo, or the presence of natural arsenic in underground waters in Zrenjanin).

Poor waste management has been identified as one of the most important environmental problems in Serbia and the recycling is a fledgling activity, with only 15% of its waste being turned back for reuse.[113] The 1999 NATO bombing caused serious damage to the environment, with several thousand tons of toxic chemicals stored in targeted factories and refineries released into the soil and water basins.

Politics

Serbia is a parliamentary republic, with the government divided into legislative, executive and judiciary branches.

Serbia had one of the first modern constitutions in Europe, the 1835 Constitution (known as "Sretenje Constitution"), which was at the time considered among the most progressive and liberal constitutions in the world. Since then it has adopted 10 different constitutions.[114] The current constitution was adopted in 2006 in the aftermath of Montenegro independence referendum which by consequence renewed the independence of Serbia itself.[115] The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitution.

The Government (Vlada) is composed of the prime minister and cabinet ministers. The Government is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies. The current prime minister is Ana Brnabić of the Serbian Progressive Party.[118]

The National Assembly (Narodna skupština) is a unicameral legislative body. The National Assembly has the power to enact laws, approve the budget, schedule presidential elections, select and dismiss the Prime Minister and other ministers, declare war, and ratify international treaties and agreements.[119] It is composed of 250 proportionally elected members who serve four-year terms.

Law and criminal justice

Serbia has a three-tiered judicial system, made up of the Supreme Court of Cassation as the court of the last resort, Courts of Appeal as the appellate instance, and Basic and High courts as the general jurisdictions at first instance.

Courts of special jurisdictions are the Administrative Court, commercial courts (including the Commercial Court of Appeal at second instance) and misdemeanor courts (including High Misdemeanor Court at second instance).[121] The judiciary is overseen by the Ministry of Justice. Serbia has a typical civil law legal system.

The province of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008, which sparked varied responses from the international community, some welcoming it, while others condemn the unilateral move.[78] In protest, Serbia initially recalled its ambassadors from countries that recognized Kosovo′s independence.[131] The resolution of 26 December 2007 by the National Assembly stated that both the Kosovo declaration of independence and recognition thereof by any state would be gross violation of international law.[132]

Traditionally having relied on a large number of conscripts, Serbian Armed Forces went through a period of downsizing, restructuring and professionalisation. Conscription was abolished in 2011.[141] Serbian Armed Forces have 28,000 active troops,[142] supplemented by the "active reserve" which numbers 20,000 members and "passive reserve" with about 170,000.[143][144]

Serbia is a major producer and exporter of military equipment in the region. Defence exports totaled around $569 million in 2017.[148] Serbia exports across the world, notably to the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America.[149] The defence industry has seen significant growth over the years and it continues to grow on a yearly basis.[150][151]

Administrative divisions

Serbia is a unitary state[152] composed of municipalities/cities, districts, and two autonomous provinces. In Serbia, excluding Kosovo, there are 145 municipalities (opštine) and 29 cities (gradovi), which form the basic units of local self-government.[153] Apart from municipalities/cities, there are 24 districts (okruzi, 10 most populated listed below), with the City of Belgrade constituting an additional district. Except for Belgrade, which has an elected local government, districts are regional centers of state authority, but have no powers of their own; they present purely administrative divisions.[153]

Demographics

As of 2011 census, Serbia (excluding Kosovo) has a total population of 7,186,862 and the overall population density is medium as it stands at 92.8 inhabitants per square kilometer.[156] The census was not conducted in Kosovo which held its own census that numbered their total population at 1,739,825,[157] excluding Serb-inhabited North Kosovo, as Serbs from that area (about 50,000) boycotted the census.

Ethnic composition (2011)

Serbs

83.3%

Hungarians

3.5%

Roma

2.1%

Bosniaks

2%

Croats

0.8%

Slovaks

0.7%

Other

4.7%

Unspecified/Unknown

3.3%

Serbia has been enduring a demographic crisis since the beginning of the 1990s, with a death rate that has continuously exceeded its birth rate, and a total fertility rate of 1.43 children per mother, one of the lowest in the world.[158]

Serbia subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 42.9 years,[2] and its population is shrinking at one of the fastest rates in the world.[159] A fifth of all households consist of only one person, and just one-fourth of four and more persons.[160] Average life expectancy in Serbia at birth is 74.8 years.[161]

During the 1990s, Serbia had the largest refugee population in Europe.[162]Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Serbia formed between 7% and 7.5% of its population at the time – about half a million refugees sought refuge in the country following the series of Yugoslav wars, mainly from Croatia (and to a lesser extent from Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the IDPs from Kosovo.[163]

It is estimated that 300,000 people left Serbia during the 1990s, 20% of whom had a higher education.[164][165]

Serbs with 5,988,150 are the largest ethnic group in Serbia, representing 83% of the total population (excluding Kosovo). With a population of 253,899, Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority in Serbia, concentrated predominantly in northern Vojvodina and representing 3.5% of the country's population (13% in Vojvodina). Romani population stands at 147,604 according to the 2011 census but unofficial estimates place their actual number between 400,000 and 500,000.[166]Bosniaks with 145,278 are concentrated in Raška (Sandžak), in the southwest. Other minority groups include Croats, Slovaks, Albanians, Montenegrins, Vlachs, Romanians, Macedonians and Bulgarians. Chinese, estimated at about 15,000, are the only significant immigrant minority.[167][168]

The majority of the population, or 59.4%, reside in urban areas and some 16.1% in Belgrade alone. Belgrade is the only city with more than a million inhabitants and there are four more with over 100,000 inhabitants.[169]

Religion

The Constitution of Serbia defines it as a secular state with guaranteed religious freedom. Orthodox Christians with 6,079,396 comprise 84.5% of country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest and traditional church of the country, adherents of which are overwhelmingly Serbs. Other Orthodox Christian communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Vlachs, Macedonians and Bulgarians.

Roman Catholics number 356,957 in Serbia, or roughly 6% of the population, mostly in Vojvodina (especially its northern part) which is home to minority ethnic groups such as Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, as well as to some Slovaks and Czechs.[171]

Muslims, with 222,282 or 3% of the population, form the third largest religious group. Islam has a strong historic following in the southern regions of Serbia, primarily in southern Raška. Bosniaks are the largest Islamic community in Serbia; estimates are that around a third of the country's Roma people are Muslim.

There are only 578 Jews in Serbia.[173]Atheists numbered 80,053 or 1.1% of the population and an additional 4,070 declared themselves to be agnostics.[173]

Language

The official language is Serbian, native to 88% of the population.[173] Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic is designated in the Constitution as the "official script" and was devised in 1814 by Serbian philologist Vuk Karadžić, who based it on phonemic principles.,[174] while the Latin alphabet is given status of "script in official use" by the constitution. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of Serbians favour the Latin alphabet, 36% favour the Cyrillic one and 17% have no preference.[175]

Recognized minority languages are: Hungarian, Bosnian, Slovak, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Rusyn. All these languages are in official use in municipalities or cities where the ethnic minority exceeds 15% of the total population.[176] In Vojvodina, the provincial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian and Rusyn).

The economy has been affected by the global economic crisis. After almost a decade of strong economic growth (average of 4.45% per year), Serbia entered the recession in 2009 with negative growth of −3% and again in 2012 and 2014 with −1% and −1.8%, respectively.[180] As the government was fighting effects of crisis the public debt has more than doubled: from pre-crisis level of just under 30% to about 70% of GDP and trending downwards recently to around 60%.[181][182] Labor force stands at 3.1 million, of whom 56.2% are employed in services sector, 24.4% are employed in the agriculture and 19.4% are employed in industry.[183] The average monthly net salary in November 2017 stood at 47,575 dinars or $480.[184] The unemployment remains an acute problem, with rate of 13% as of 2017.[183]

Serbia has an unfavorable trade balance: imports exceed exports by 23%. Serbia's exports, however, recorded a steady growth in last couple of years reaching $17 billion in 2017.[188] The country has free trade agreements with the EFTA and CEFTA, a preferential trade regime with the European Union, a Generalized System of Preferences with the United States, and individual free trade agreements with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.[189]

Agriculture

Serbia has very favourable natural conditions (land and climate) for varied agricultural production. It has 5,056,000 ha of agricultural land (0.7 ha per capita), out of which 3,294,000 ha is arable land (0.45 ha per capita).[190] In 2016, Serbia exported agricultural and food products worth $3.2 billion, and the export-import ratio was 178%.[191] Agricultural exports constitute more than one-fifth of all Serbia's sales on the world market. Serbia is one of the largest provider of frozen fruit to the EU (largest to the French market, and 2nd largest to the German market).[192] Agricultural production is most prominent in Vojvodina on the fertile Pannonian Plain.

Other agricultural regions include Mačva, Pomoravlje, Tamnava, Rasina, and Jablanica.[193]
In the structure of the agricultural production 70% is from the crop field production, and 30% is from the livestock production.[193] Serbia is world's second largest producer of plums (582,485 tons; second to China), second largest of raspberries (89,602 tons, second to Poland), it is also a significant producer of maize (6.48 million tons, ranked 32nd in the world) and wheat (2.07 million tons, ranked 35th in the world).[103][194] Other important agricultural products are: sunflower, sugar beet, soybean, potato, apple, pork meat, beef, poultry and dairy.

There are 56,000 ha of vineyards in Serbia, producing about 230 million litres of wine annually.[103][190] Most famous viticulture regions are located in Vojvodina and Šumadija.

Industry

The industry is the economy sector which was hardest hit by the UN sanctions and trade embargo and NATO bombing during the 1990s and transition to market economy during the 2000s.[195] The industrial output saw dramatic downsizing: in 2013 it was expected to be only a half of that of 1989.[196] Main industrial sectors include: automotive, mining, non-ferrous metals, food-processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, clothes.

Automotive industry (with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as a forebearer) is dominated by cluster located in Kragujevac and its vicinity, and contributes to export with about $2 billion.[197] Serbia's mining industry is comparatively strong: Serbia is the 18th largest producer of coal (7th in the Europe) extracted from large deposits in Kolubara and Kostolac basins; it is also world's 23rd largest (3rd in Europe) producer of copper which is extracted by RTB Bor, a large domestic copper mining company; significant gold extraction is developed around Majdanpek. Serbia notably manufactures intel smartphones named Tesla smartphones.[198]

Food industry is well known both regionally and internationally and is one of the strong points of the economy.[199] Some of the international brand-names established production in Serbia: PepsiCo and Nestlé in food-processing sector; Coca-Cola (Belgrade), Heineken (Novi Sad) and Carlsberg (Bačka Palanka) in beverage industry; Nordzucker in sugar industry.[192] Serbia's electronics industry had its peak in the 1980s and the industry today is only a third of what it was back then, but has witnessed a something of revival in last decade with investments of companies such as Siemens (wind turbines) in Subotica, Panasonic (lighting devices) in Svilajnac, and Gorenje (electrical home appliances) in Valjevo.[200] The pharmaceutical industry in Serbia comprises a dozen manufacturers of generic drugs, of which Hemofarm in Vršac and Galenika in Belgrade, account for 80% of production volume. Domestic production meets over 60% of the local demand.[201]

Energy

The energy sector is one of the largest and most important sectors to the country's economy. Serbia is a net exporter of electricity and importer of key fuels (such as oil and gas).

Serbia has an abundance of coal, and significant reserves of oil and gas. Serbia's proven reserves of 5.5 billion tons of coal lignite are the 5th largest in the world (second in Europe, after Germany).[202][203] Coal is found in two large deposits: Kolubara (4 billion tons of reserves) and Kostolac (1.5 billion tons).[202] Despite being small on a world scale, Serbia's oil and gas resources (77.4 million tons of oil equivalent and 48.1 billion cubic meters, respectively) have a certain regional importance since they are largest in the region of former Yugoslavia as well as the Balkans (excluding Romania).[204] Almost 90% of the discovered oil and gas are to be found in Banat and those oil and gas fields are by size among the largest in the Pannonian basin but are average on a European scale.[205]

The production of electricity in 2015 in Serbia was 36.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh), while the final electricity consumption amounted to 35.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh).[206] Most of the electricity produced comes from thermal-power plants (72.7% of all electricity) and to a lesser degree from hydroelectric-power plants (27.3%).[207] There are 6 lignite-operated thermal-power plants with an installed power of 3,936 MW; largest of which are 1,502 MW-Nikola Tesla 1 and 1,160 MW-Nikola Tesla 2, both in Obrenovac.[208] Total installed power of 9 hydroelectric-power plants is 2,831 MW, largest of which is Đerdap 1 with capacity of 1,026 MW.[209] In addition to this, there are mazute and gas-operated thermal-power plants with an installed power of 353 MW.[210] The entire production of electricity is concentrated in Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), public electric-utility power company.

The current oil production in Serbia amounts to over 1.1 million tons of oil equivalent[211] and satisfies some 43% of country's needs while the rest is imported.[212] National petrol company, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), was acquired in 2008 by Gazprom Neft. The company has completed $700 million modernisation of oil-refinery in Pančevo (capacity of 4.8 million tons) and is currently in the midst of converting oil refinery in Novi Sad into lubricants-only refinery. It also operates network of 334 filling stations in Serbia (74% of domestic market) and additional 36 stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 in Bulgaria, and 28 in Romania.[213][214] There are 155 kilometers of crude oil pipelines connecting Pančevo and Novi Sad refineries as a part of trans-national Adria oil pipeline.[215]

Serbia is heavily dependent on foreign sources of natural gas, with only 17% coming from domestic production (totalling 491 million cubic meters in 2012) and the rest is imported, mainly from Russia (via gas pipelines that run through Ukraine and Hungary).[212]Srbijagas, public gas company, operates the natural gas transportation system which comprise 3,177 kilometers of trunk and regional natural gas pipelines and a 450 million cubic meter underground gas storage facility at Banatski Dvor.[216]

Transport

Serbia has a strategic transportation location since the country's backbone, Morava Valley, represents by far the easiest route of land travel from continental Europe to Asia Minor and the Near East.

Serbian road network carries the bulk of traffic in the country. Total length of roads is 45,419km of which 782km are "class-Ia state roads" (i.e. motorways); 4,481km are "class-Ib state roads" (national roads); 10,941km are "class-II state roads" (regional roads) and 23,780km are "municipal roads".[217][218][219] The road network, except for the most of class-Ia roads, are of comparatively lower quality to the Western European standards because of lack of financial resources for their maintenance in the last 20 years.

There are currently 124 kilometers of motorways under construction: two sections 34km-long of the A1 motorway (from south of Leskovac to Bujanovac), 67km-long segment of A2 (between Belgrade and Ljig), and 23 kilometers on the A4 (east of Niš to the Bulgarian border).[220][221][222]Coach transport is very extensive: almost every place in the country is connected by bus, from largest cities to the villages; in addition there are international routes (mainly to countries of Western Europe with large Serb diaspora). Routes, both domestic and international, are served by more than 100 bus companies, biggest of which are Lasta and Niš-Ekspres. As of 2015, there were 1,833,215 registered passenger cars or 1 passenger car per 3.8 inhabitants.[183]

Serbia has a developed inland water transport since there are 1,716 kilometers of navigable inland waterways (1,043km of navigable rivers and 673km of navigable canals), which are almost all located in northern third of the country.[103] The most important inland waterway is the Danube (part of Pan-European Corridor VII). Other navigable rivers include Sava, Tisza, Begej and Timiş River, all of which connect Serbia with Northern and Western Europe through the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal and North Sea route, to Eastern Europe via the Tisza, Begej and Danube Black Sea routes, and to Southern Europe via the Sava river. More than 2 million tons of cargo were transported on Serbian rivers and canals in 2016 while the largest river ports are: Novi Sad, Belgrade, Pančevo, Smederevo, Prahovo and Šabac.[103][227]

Telecommunications

Fixed telephone lines connect 81% of households in Serbia, and with about 9.1 million users the number of cellphones surpasses the total population of by 28%.[228] The largest mobile operator is Telekom Srbija with 4.2 million subscribers, followed by Telenor with 2.8 million users and Vip mobile with about 2 million.[228] Some 58% of households have fixed-line (non-mobile) broadband Internet connection while 67% are provided with pay television services (i.e. 38% cable television, 17% IPTV, and 10% satellite).[228]Digital television transition has been completed in 2015 with DVB-T2 standard for signal transmission.[229][230]

Tourism

Serbia is not a mass-tourism destination but nevertheless has a diverse range of touristic products.[231] In 2017, total of over 3 million tourists were recorded in accommodations, of which some 1.5 million were foreign.[232] Foreign exchange earnings from tourism were estimated at $1.44 billion.[233]

Tourism is mainly focused on the mountains and spas of the country, which are mostly visited by domestic tourists, as well as Belgrade and, to a lesser degree, Novi Sad, which are preferred choices of foreign tourists (almost two-thirds of all foreign visits are made to these two cities).[234][235] The most famous mountain resorts are Kopaonik, Stara Planina, and Zlatibor. There are also many spas in Serbia, the biggest of which are Vrnjačka Banja, Soko Banja, and Banja Koviljača. City-break and conference tourism is developed in Belgrade and Novi Sad.[236] Other touristic products that Serbia offer are natural wonders like Đavolja varoš,[237] Christian pilgrimage to the many Orthodox monasteries across the country and the river cruising along the Danube. There are several internationally popular music festivals held in Serbia, such as EXIT (with 25–30,000 foreign visitors coming from 60 different countries) and the Guča trumpet festival.[238]

Education and science

According to 2011 census, literacy in Serbia stands at 98% of population while computer literacy is at 49% (complete computer literacy is at 34.2%).[239] Same census showed the following levels of education: 16.2% of inhabitants have higher education (10.6% have bachelors or master's degrees, 5.6% have an associate degree), 49% have a secondary education, 20.7% have an elementary education, and 13.7% have not completed elementary education.[240]

Education in Serbia is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science. Education starts in either preschools or elementary schools. Children enroll in elementary schools at the age of seven. Compulsory education consists of eight grades of elementary school. Students have the opportunity to attend gymnasiums and vocational schools for another four years, or to enroll in vocational training for 2 to 3 years. Following the completion of gymnasiums or vocational schools, students have the opportunity to attend university.[242] Elementary and secondary education are also available in languages of recognised minorities in Serbia, where classes are held in Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Rusyn, Bulgarian as well as Bosnian and Croatian languages.

Serbia spent 0.64% of GDP on scientific research in 2012, which is one of the lowest R&D budgets in Europe.[247] Serbia has a long history of excellence in maths and computer sciences which has created a strong pool of engineering talent, although economic sanctions during the 1990s and chronic underinvestment in research forced many scientific professionals to leave the country.[248] Nevertheless, there are several areas in which Serbia still excels such as growing information technology sector, which includes software development as well as outsourcing. It generated $200 million in exports in 2011, both from international investors and a significant number of dynamic homegrown enterprises.[249] In 2005 the global technology giant, Microsoft, founded the Microsoft Development Center, only its fourth such centre in the world.
Among the scientific institutes operating in Serbia, the largest are the Mihajlo Pupin Institute and Vinča Nuclear Institute, both in Belgrade. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is a learned society promoting science and arts from its inception in 1841.[250] With a strong science and technological ecosystem, Serbia has produced a number of renowned scientists that have greatly contributed to the field of science and technology.

Culture

For centuries straddling the boundaries between East and West, the territory of Serbia had been divided among the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; then between Byzantium and the Kingdom of Hungary; and in the Early modern period between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. These overlapping influences have resulted in cultural varieties throughout Serbia; its north leans to the profile of Central Europe, while the south is characteristic of the wider Balkans and even the Mediterranean. The Byzantine influence on Serbia was profound, firstly through the introduction of Eastern Christianity (Orthodoxy) in the Early Middle Ages. The Serbian Orthodox Church has had an enduring status in Serbia, with the many Serbian monasteries constituting the most valuable cultural monuments left from Serbia in the Middle Ages. Serbia has seen influences of Republic of Venice as well, mainly though trade, literature and romanesque architecture.

Serbian monasteries are the pinnacle of Serbian medieval art. At the beginning, they were under the influence of Byzantine Art which was particularly felt after the fall of Constantinople in 1204, when many Byzantine artists fled to Serbia. The most noted of these monasteries is Studenica (built around 1190). It was a model for later monasteries, like the Mileševa, Sopoćani, Žiča, Gračanica and Visoki Dečani. In the end of 14th and the 15th centuries, autochotonous architectural style known as Morava style evolved in area around Morava Valley. A characteristic of this style was the wealthy decoration of the frontal church walls. Examples of this include Manasija, Ravanica and Kalenić monasteries.

Icons and fresco paintings are often considered the peak of Serbian art. The most famous frescos are White Angel (Mileševa monastery), Crucifixion (Studenica monastery) and Dormition of the Virgin (Sopoćani).

Anastas Jovanović was one of the earliest photographes in the world, while Marina Abramović is one of the world leading performance artists. Pirot carpet is known as one of the most important traditional handicrafts in Serbia.

There are around 100 art museums in Serbia, of which the most prominent is the National Museum of Serbia, founded in 1844; it houses one of the largest art collections in the Balkans with more than 400,000 exhibits, over 5,600 paintings and 8,400 drawings and prints, including many foreign masterpiece collections. Other art museums of note are Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade and Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad.

Literature

The beginning of Serbian literacy dates back to the activity of the brothers Cyril and Methodius in the Balkans. Monuments of Serbian literacy from the early 11th century can be found, written in Glagolitic. Starting in the 12th century, books were written in Cyrillic. From this epoch, the oldest Serbian Cyrillic book editorial are the Miroslav Gospels from 1186. The Miroslav Gospels are considered to be the oldest book of Serbian medieval history and as such has entered UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.[254]

There are 551 public libraries biggest of which are: National Library of Serbia in Belgrade with funds of about 5 million volumes, and Matica Srpska (oldest Serbian cultural institution, founded in 1826) in Novi Sad with nearly 3.5 million volumes.[274][275] In 2010, there were 10,989 books and brochures published.[103] The book publishing market is dominated by several major publishers such as Laguna and Vulkan (both of which operate their own bookstore chains) and the industry's centerpiece event, annual Belgrade Book Fair, is the most visited cultural event in Serbia with 158,128 visitors in 2013.[276] The highlight of the literary scene is awarding of NIN Prize, given every January since 1954 for the best newly published novel in Serbian language (during times of Yugoslavia, in Serbo-Croatian language).[277]

Traditional Serbian music includes various kinds of bagpipes, flutes, horns, trumpets, lutes, psalteries, drums and cymbals. The kolo is the traditional collective folk dance, which has a number of varieties throughout the regions. The most popular are those from Užice and Morava region. Sung epic poetry has been an integral part of Serbian and Balkan music for centuries. In the highlands of Serbia these long poems are typically accompanied on a one-string fiddle called the gusle, and concern themselves with themes from history and mythology. There are records of gusle being played at the court of the 13th-century King Stefan Nemanjić.[282]

Folk music in its original form has been a prominent music style since World War One following the early success of Sofka Nikolić. The music has been further promoted by Danica Obrenić, Anđelija Milić, Nada Mamula, and even later, during 60s and 70s, with stars like Silvana Armenulić, Toma Zdravković, Lepa Lukić, Vasilija Radojčić, Vida Pavlović and Gordana Stojićević.

Balkan Brass, or truba ("trumpet") is a popular genre, especially in Central and Southern Serbia where Balkan Brass originated. The music has its tradition from the First Serbian Uprising. The trumpet was used as a military instrument to wake and gather soldiers and announce battles, the trumpet took on the role of entertainment during downtime, as soldiers used it to transpose popular folk songs. When the war ended and the soldiers returned to the rural life, the music entered civilian life and eventually became a music style, accompanying births, baptisms, weddings, and funerals. There are two main varieties of this genre, one from Western Serbia and the other from Southern Serbia. The best known Serbian Brass musician is Boban Marković, also one of the biggest names in the world of modern brass band bandleaders.

Most popular music festival are Guča Trumpet Festival with over 300,000 annual visitors and EXIT in Novi Sad ("The best European festival" in 2007 by UK Festival Awards and Yourope – the European Association of the 40 largest festivals in Europe) with 200,000 visitors in 2013.[283][284] Other festivals include Nišville Jazz Festival in Niš and Gitarijada rock festival in Zaječar.

The Serbian cinema is one of the most dynamic smaller European cinematographies. Serbia's film industry is heavily subsidised by the government, mainly through grants approved by the Film Centre of Serbia. In 2011, there were 17 domestic feature films produced.[288] There are 22 operating cinemas in the country, of which 12 are multiplexes, with total attendance exceeding 2.6 million and comparatively high percentage of 32.3% of total sold tickets for domestic films.[289][290] Modern PFI Studios located in Šimanovci is nowadays Serbia's only film studio complex; it consists of 9 state-of-the-art sound stages and attracts mainly international productions, primarily American and West European.[291] The Yugoslav Film Archive used to be former Yugoslavia's and now is Serbia national film archive – with over 95 thousand film prints, it is among five largest film archives in the world.[292]

Media

The freedom of the press and the freedom of speech are guaranteed by the constitution of Serbia.[296] Serbia is ranked 54th out of 180 countries in the 2014 Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters Without Borders.[297] Both reports noted that media outlets and journalists continue to face partisan and government pressure over editorial policies. Also, the media are now more heavily dependent on advertising contracts and government subsidies to survive financially.[298]

According to AGB Nielsen Research in 2009, Serbs on average watch five hours of television per day, making it the highest average in Europe.[299] There are seven nationwide free-to-air television channels, with public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) operating three (RTS1, RTS2 and RTS3) and remaining four are private broadcasters: Pink, Happy TV, Prva, and O2.TV. Viewing shares for these channels in 2016 were as follows: 20.2% for RTS1, 14.1% for Pink, 9.4% for Happy TV, 9.0% for Prva, 4.7% for O2.TV, and 2.5% for RTS2.[300] There are 28 regional television channels and 74 local television channels.[103] Besides terrestrial channels there are dozens Serbian television channels available only on cable or satellite.

There are 305 newspapers published in Serbia[183] of which 12 are daily newspapers. Dailies Politika and Danas are Serbia's papers of record, former being the oldest newspaper in the Balkans, founded in 1904.[302] Highest circulation newspapers are tabloids Večernje Novosti, Blic, Kurir, and Informer, all with more than 100,000 copies sold.[303] There are one daily newspaper devoted to sports – Sportski žurnal, one business daily Privredni pregled, two regional newspapers (Dnevnik published in Novi Sad and Narodne novine from Niš), and one minority-language daily (Magyar Szo in Hungarian, published in Subotica).

Staples of the Serbian diet include bread, meat, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Bread is the basis of all Serbian meals, and it plays an important role in Serbian cuisine and can be found in religious rituals. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offer bread and salt to guests. Meat is widely consumed, as is fish. Serbian specialties include ćevapčići (caseless sausages made of minced meat, which is always grilled and seasoned), pljeskavica, sarma, kajmak (a dairy product similar to clotted cream), gibanica (cheese and kajmak pie), ajvar (a roasted red pepper spread), proja (cornbread), and kačamak (corn-flour porridge).[307]

Serbians claim their country as the birthplace of rakia (rakija), a highly alcoholic drink primarily distilled from fruit. Rakia in various forms is found throughout the Balkans, notably in Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Hungary and Turkey. Slivovitz (šljivovica), a plum brandy, is a type of rakia which is considered the national drink of Serbia.[308]

Professional sports in Serbia are organized by sporting federations and leagues (in case of team sports). One of particularities of Serbian professional sports is existence of many multi-sports clubs (called "sports societies"), biggest and most successful of which are Red Star, Partizan, and Beograd in Belgrade, Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Radnički in Kragujevac, Spartak in Subotica.

Football is the most popular sport in Serbia, and the Football Association of Serbia with 146,845 registered players, is the largest sporting association in the country.[309]Dragan Džajić was officially recognized as "the best Serbian player of all times" by the Football Association of Serbia, and more recently the likes of Nemanja Vidić, Dejan Stanković and Branislav Ivanović play for the elite clubs of Europe, developing the nation's reputation as one of the world's biggest exporters of footballers.[310]

↑ Wide Angle, Milosevic and the Media."Part 3: Dictatorship on the Airwaves." PBS. Quotation from film: "...the things that happened at state TV, warmongering, things we can admit to now: false information, biased reporting. That went directly from Milošević to the head of TV".

↑ – Latest information published in Serbia Defense Ministry monthly press "Odbrana" in 1. November 2011 about reserves according to law passed in Serbian parliament. Document contains 20 pages and have information about obligation regarding defending country use of reserve forces and division into active and passive reserve